Thursday, June 19, 2014

Fordham's Career Services & Buzzfeed's Tips for Millennials New to the Workforce

Whatever you do, don't be like the main character in the movie, 'Office Space.'

We’re roughly one month away from most college and
university commencements, and this means college graduates, including some of
ours, are settling into their brand new jobs. “The real world” of work may be a
rude awakening for some since not all of its survival tips are taught in the classroom.
Luckily, today’s new workforce has the Internet.

DON’T:
Spill personal details to Mandy the PR girl just because she sits next to you.

When you’re a young person at an office filled with lots of
young people, it can be tempting to cross the friend–colleague line and talk to
your co-workers just like you would your pals at a bar. But even if you just
went through a heart-wrenching breakup AND you just got in a fight with your
mom AND you’re stressed because you just bounced a check,it might be best to save the
cathartic chat for your BFF.

Fattor also adds the following tips, which she shared with
us here at Fordham Notes:

BE REMARKABLE

Remember that moment before finals when you’d calculate
exactly what you had to do to pull of a ‘B’ or ‘C’? Then you’d study the
minimum amount possible to make that grade. Those days are gone my
friend. The great thing about the workplace is that you can almost always
count on the hardest working, most talented people getting the respect,
promotions and best compensation. Everyone wants a team of talented,
generally awesome people. It’s your job to be the most awesome.
Regardless of what you do, whether it’s putting together pitch books for a
managing director or picking up latte’s for the queen editor, make sure you’re
better at it than anyone else. No matter how menial the task, nothing
better will come your way until you're the best at what you do.

BE PROFESSIONAL

Much like the "leave your life at home," piece of advice, if you’re interested in your supervisor being enchanted by
you, it’s simple: Close your personal social media and email, stop
texting your mom, and show some personal interest in them. And you know
those work events with cocktails. They are still work events. 2
drink maximum! You're not funnier with a buzz and no one wants to see you
put your fist in your mouth. They really don't want to see you hit on the
bartender, or worse, a workmate. Seriously, two drink maximum.

BE INDISPENSABLE

Have you noticed the job market is tough? Perhaps you
heard there was a recession. People are losing their jobs and having
trouble finding jobs. They also aren’t getting big
raises. Guess who gets to keep their jobs—people who are
indispensible. That’s right, if your boss can’t live without you, or their
job would be significantly harder if you weren’t around, you aren’t getting
laid off. In other good news, this is also exactly what you share when
it’s time to ask for your first raise. Don’t be that guy that asks for a
raise because guys at other firms make more, or your rent is too expensive, or
you want new Ferragamo loafers. No one cares. Ask for a raise
because the value you add every single day and the value you can add next year
is far more than what they have to pay you.

And since it’s #ThrowbackThursday, check out this 2013
piece in the Chicago Sun-Times “The
Grid,” in which Erin McLaughlin, the assistant director of experiential
education at Fordham’s Career Services, doles out advice to a twentysomething
who asked if she should be taking free candy from a man in her work building.
(Yes, it was a real question.)

Remember that Fordham’s Career Services offers several
services for students (and some for alumni), including Fordham
Futures, a career planning and professional development program that
integrates the values of a Jesuit liberal arts education with contemporary
society. Learn more here.